Car door mechanism



Nov. 3, 1931. E. c. ELLIS ET AL CAR DOOR MECHANISM Original Filed July 20, 1926 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 who-amt Nov. 3, 1931. E. c. ELLIS ET AL CAR DOOR MECHANISM Original Filed July 20, 1926 2 Sheets-Shae! 2 Patented Nov. "1931 i TENT -.om=1ce I nLMEn c E LIs Arm PAUL. MAnnox, orfn'rcnnonn, vi RoImA, oassrenons T0 WINE nanwny APPLIANCE COMBANY, QFTOLEDQ 01110,; A CORPORATION OF orno 1 CAR noon MECHANISM I Application filed July 2o 192s, Serial m. 123,654. 'Renewed November 16, 1929.

Our'invention relates t-ocar door mecha-t nism' for controlhngthe lading dlsoharge doors of freightcars of; the dump type, The

primary object of the inventionisto provide simple and ,eflicient means for causing the maintaining it-securelyflocked; a o

"The principal feature of the invention consists in providingtoggle means mounted on the discharge openingwith an arm cooperat-v the car body for cooperating with a hinged door guarding the lading discharge opening ofthe car, the 'door being equipped with a laterally projectingarm, vand the toggle means includinga lever towhich a. hook is pivotally connected for cooperation with the door arm, the lever beingpivotally mounted, enthe car body and means being providedlfor cooperating withthe, hook to disengage the latter'fromthe door arm when the lever is moved to door releasing position.

A further important feature -of the -tionconsistsin providing the hinged door of ingwith a door supporting hook which is adapted to be actuated by a lever pivotally mounted on the car bodyyand in associating therewith meansfor causing the hook to asl sumejdoor releasing position when the lever 'is'retate'chtogether withmea'ns for preventing the l-ever from"accidentally returning to door releas ng positionafter it has been brought to'anintermedlateposltion followqing thedisengagement of the hook from the door arm.

: Other features of theinvention pertaining be particularly pointed outinthe claims;

' n the drawings illustrating'apreferred embodiment of the invention. a Figure 1 1s an end elevat onal view of a 7 portion of a hopper car havinga door mechso as to permit it to open.

miismdnvolvingtthe DtiOn applied there- "Finn-sa is a vieiv on the line 2 -2, Figure inven- I to relations of parts and advantageous forms of construction will hereinafter appear and Figure 3 ure 1. Figure tisa view corresponding toFigure 2 but illustrating the position of the parts when the door is supported in partly closed position. a V

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view'on the line 5 5, Figure 4L 1 i Figure 6 isla detail sectional View on the line 6-565Figi1re2. v I V Figure 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view illustrating the manner of rotating the pawl to cause it to assume an operative position.

The door mechanism embodying tl1e-invention isshown as applied to a railway car is view on the line 3-3 :of. Figof a well known type and therefore, only a portion of one of the hoppers of said car has been'illustrateda While the mechanism is especially well suited for application to hopper cars it will beappreciated that it'may be applied to'the doors of cars of other forms. i.

Inthe drawings 1- indicates the inclined side wall or side sheet-of the hopper portion of the car and 2 is the swinging door for closing the lading discharge opening of the hopper. The door, swhichcis of the familiar pressed metal type having outwardly extending mar} ginal flanges. is hinged to-the car body'in the usualorany convenient manner. .Secured to the outer face of the door and extending transversely of the caris a door spreaderor door stiffener 3 which may advantageously be in the general form of an angle iron ofl'set atjits outer end around the outer marginal flange'of the door so as to provide an outwardlyprojecting locking arm 4 whose up standing flange 5: forms a seat or'ledge for cooperating with the door supporting hook 6.

as a toggle mechanism including the hook Band the manuallyoperated lever 8 for actuating the.- latter. The lever is ,pivotally 7 operating with the lug 13 to insure movement mounted on'the car body adjacent the lading lever and-that of the hook are spacedapart so as to cause'the outer end of the'hook to move toward the discharge opening of the hopper when the lever performs a door closing operation and 'to move outwardlytherefore 7 when the lever is rotatedgtounlock-the.door

The means for pivotallymounting thelever 1 p I lnduced by the weight of the door. when the upon the car body preferably is formedasa bracket 10 rigidly riveted to the side sheet 1 of the hopper, the lever 8-being pivoted theretoby means of have-11, Formedintegral with the bracket are outwardly proi jecting lugs or studs'12 and 13 respectively whichvarejspaced to receive the shank of the hook 6 between them. J'The portionof the hook which operates between lugs 12 and 13 is formed onits underside with a curvedcam surface 14; and onits upper side with a cam surface 15., the, former being designedto cooperate with the lug 12 to efle'ctzan unlocking rotation of the hook whenthe lever is swung to door releasing position as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2, and the latter coof the hook to locked position when the lever is operated to force the door shut. It

will also be perceived that the lug 13constitutes means for preventing the hook 6 from:

movingfto door releasing position independently of the appropriate .movem'entof the operating lever 8.

-While the relation f the pivotal'point 9 of the hook and the pivotal point 11 0f the operating lever are such that the load upon the: door tends to maintain the parts in locked relatio-nwhen the door is shut other means are preferably provided for preventing accidental rotation of the lever when the door sis-in 1 closed position. For this purpose .a

gravity actuated latch 16 may advantageously be employed, the latch being pivotally mounted, by means of a rivet 17, at the upper end of an arm 18formingpart of a'bracket 19 secured to the side sheet. of the hopper.

. v The latch 16 is weighted on one'side so that it automatically swings to a position above the offset handle portion 20 of the leverI'as the latter has been fully operated to close the end of the door closingmoven ent of the lever, tlie said latch is automatically rotated so as to permit the lever to pass beneath it as V will be readily understood. v .7 Because .ofthe fact that the swinging doors for closing'the lading discharge opening become warped orv distorted in service it'is a mat ter of considerable difficulty to fully close them. His howeverfa comparatively easy matter to swing sucha' door to partially c'losed position and accordingly the mechanism is closure as illustrated'in and doorarm 4, therebylpermitting the lever to resist the'door releasing rotation which is latter is supported in a osit-ion of partial igureea An advantageous means for this purpose is a pawl 2lpivotally' secured to the lever by means of a rivet 22 and adapted to cooperate with a portioniof'the bracket 10 upon-which the lever. is 'rotatably "mountedaflhis pawl is weighted upon one side so as to assume by gravity the position shown in Figure 2- when the lever is in a position corresponding to the fully closed position of the door; A lug 23 with which; the pawl is provided overlaps the adjacent face of the leverso as to limit the extent of rotation of the pawl upon its pivot. During the door releasing operation of the mechanism,'when the projection 2 of the pawl comes into contact with the bracket 10 thecontinued movement of the lever in the same direction resultsin effecting a rotation of the pawl so' as to shift its weighted portion toward the free "end of the hook 6 as indicated in dotted lines in Figure 2. lVhen thereafter the lever 8 is moved to an intermediate position, as illustrated in Figure 4, the pawl 21 automatically gravitates so as to interpose itself between the lever and the bracket 10, thereby enabling the lever 'to withstand the pull of the'hook 6 while yet permittingthe latter to cooperate with the door arm so as to hold'the door in partially closed position. When the lever 8 is operated to move the door from partially closed to fully closed position, the pawl'21 under the influence of gravity automatically reassumes the. position shown in Figure 2'. Of course iii) the lever 8 may be'manually retained in an it is more advantageous to employ the pawl 21 for that purpose. 7

' When thedoor is inclosed position the rela- Figure 2. Upon rotating the lever B to pcrmit the door to open the outer end of'the hook i G moves in a direction away from the discharge opening of the hopper and theportion of thehook which engages the door arm is simultaneously elevated throughthe cooperation of the cam surface 14 of the hook with tions of the parts are shown in full lines in ifiSOfSbQ V i the 1i1g 12- Marmara: 1 Bythis inean aas 1 indicated in dotted lines in-Fi'gure 2, the hook is caused to be disengaged from the door'arm 4,"t'h'ereby permitting the door to swing open.

After the door has been brought to "the partiallyclosed position so as to be supported the hook 6, as shown in Figure 4, rotation of the lever in a counter-clockwise di- .-re'ction results in moving the outer end of ghook toward the hopper discharge open ng thereby-forcing the door to closed position.

During' this movement 'the lug 13 of the bracket cooperates with the cam surface 15 on the shank of the hook to force-said hook into full locking contact with the flange or seat 5' of thefdoorzarm.. 7 When the lever '8 v is in door locking-position it is held against- 1 accidental release by the catch 16,-as heretof fore described;

V e claim g y "1. Car door mechanism involving, n combination with a door hinged to the carbody,

I I said door being movable to open'position under the influence of gravity, a door arm carried by'the-door and projecting beyond an "edge thereoflandtoggle means mounted on the car body for cooperating with said arm to close thei'door and retain it in closed posi tion,'said'means including a lever, a pivotedhook for engaging the door arm'tocontrol opening movement ofthe door, thehook be ing' movable with respect to the lever and r being'adapted to be actuated thereby, and iIn-' movable means mounted on the car body cooperablewith saidhook for rotating the lat ter to disengage it from thedoor armwhen the lever is moved to door releasing position and for forcing the hook into door retaining position with the arm when the-lever is moved to door closing position. 1 2. Car door mechanism involving, in com- I bination with a door hinged to the car body,

the door being movable to open position under the influence of gravity, a door arm carried by the'doorand projecting beyond an edge thereof, and toggle meaiis mounted on the car body ,for cooperating with said arm to close the door and retain itin closed position,said means including a pivotally mountzed lever, a hook pivotally connect-ed to the lever and a'dapted to engage said arm to prevent the-"door from swinging to open posi ti'on, means for cooperating with the hook to disengage the latter from the door arm when .the lever is moved to door releasing position, "and means independent of said lever for cooperating with the hook to prevent thelatter ,froni rotating with respect to the lever when the door isclosed."

7 3. Car door mechanism involving, in combinatioii with a "door hinged to the car body,

a door arm carriedby the door, togglemeans 7 mounted on-the car body for cooperating with said arm to retain thedoor in closed position said means involving a hook-and a lever device for actuating the hook, the latter pivotally mounted to automatically engage the saidarinywhen the door 'is moved towards closed position, means for causing the hook'to be disengaged from the "arm'swhen the lever device is moved to door releasing position, and means mounted on the car'body and engageable with the hook for preventing the latter from moving to door releasing position independentlyof movement ofthe lever with the hookfor rotating the latter to dis I engage it from the door arm and means for engaging the lever to prevent rotation ofthe latter when the door is closed.

' 5. Car door mechanisminvolving, in coinbination with a door hinged to the car body, a doorarm carried by thedoor, a lever pivotallyinount-ed on thecar. body, a hook adapted tobe actuatedby the lever, the hook being pivot-allyinounted on the lever eccentric to the pivotal iaxis of "the latter and being adapted to engagethe door armto prevent open ng movement of the door, means for engaging the lever to prevent rotation thereof when the door is closed, and means independent of the lever for preventing an unlocking rotation of the hook with respectto the'lever when the door is closed.

6. Cardoor mechanism involving, in combination'with a door hinged to the car body, a door arm carried by the door, a lever pivotally mounted on the car body, a hook'pivotally mounted on thelever and adapted to be actuated thereby, the hookbeing cooperable with the door arm to prevent opening movement'of the door, the pivotal axis of the lever and that of the hook being in spaced relation, and gravity actuatedmeans mounted on the car body engageable with the lever i for preventing accidental rotation ofthe' latter when the door is in closed position '7'. Car dojor mechanism involving, in com bination with a door hinged to the car body, a door arm carried by the door, a leverpivotally-mounted on the car body, a hook pivotally mounted on the leverand adaptedto be i actuated thereby, the hook being adaptedto engage the door arm to; prevent opening" movement ofthe door, means for causing the e V hookto turn upon its pivot whenthe lever is}.

ing position after having-- been brought to 'an rotated, and means for preventing'thelever from accidentally returning to door releas intermediate position following disengagement. ofthearm from the bee c ,Car doormechamsm lnvolvlng, in combinationwitha doonhingedtothe car body,

adoor. arm carried by the door, a l'ever pivotally mounted on the car body, a hook piv- "otally mounted on thelever and adapted to be actuated thereby, the, hook being adaped to engage the? door-armto prevent'openmg movement of thedoonandmeans for maintaming the lever in a position p'ernnttmgthe I hook .toswing upon its pivot so as to engage saidarm and support the door in partially closed position. H t

-9. A car door mechanism lnvolvlng, 1n

combination with a door hinged to the car body, a doorarm carrled by the door, means mountedonthecar body for cooperating with said arm to close thedoor and retain it in closed position, said means including a piv-' otally mounted lever and a hook pivotally connected-to said lever and adapted to engage 1 said arm to prevent opening movement o'i' the door, the hook being movable with respect to said lever and being adapted to be actuated thereby, and means on the car body cooperable with the hook for causingv the latter to turn upon its ,lpivot'when the lever is actuated, said means comprising a plurality of spaced membersirespeotively disposed on opposite sides of the hook,one' of said members being cooperable with the hook'to prevent the latter from rotating with respectto the lever whenthe door is closed. V v

10. Adoor mechanism involving, in combination with a door hingedto the car body, a door arm carried by the'door',.a lever pivotally mounted on the car body, a hook piv- M otally mounted on therlever and adapted to be actuated thereby, the hook being adapted to engage the door arm to prevent opening movement of the door, and means mounted on the car body cooperable with the hook for causing the lattertoturn upon its pivot when the lever is actuated, said means comprising I a plurality of spaced members respectively disposed on opposite sides of the hook, the

members and hook, being formed and ar ranged so as to permit the. latter to freely support the door in a partially closed posi- 11. A car'doormechanisminvolving, in

swing upon its pivotto engage said arm and combination with a doorhinged to the car body, a door arm car'ried by the door,a lever pivotally mounted on the. car body, a hook pivotally connected to said lever and adapt- :ed to be actuated thereby, the hook being adapted to engage the door arm to prevent opening movement of the door, and a bracket-s'ecuredlto the car body having spaced por- -t1 i nsto receive a portlon'of thehook therebetween, one of said spaced portions being 'engageable with the hook for forcingv the latter t'rom engagement with the arm when the leveris actuated 'inone idire'ctionga-nd the other of; said portions being engageable with [thehook forforcingthe latterinto and main:

taining it in engagement with'the arm when the lever is actuated in another direction;

l 12. Aflcar door mechanism; involving, in combination with a door hinged-to the car body, an arm carried by the door, a lever pivotally mounted on'the car body, a hookpivotallyconnected to said lever and adapted to be actuated thereby, said hook being engageable withthe door arm to support and d retain the door in closed position, 1 and a bracket mounted-on the car bodyvforming a pivotal (support for [said lever, said bracket having means cooperable with said hook for causing the latter to turn upon its pivot when the lever is actuated and to maintain the hook in engagement with the armvwhenflthe door is closed. I 1 Y 13. A car door mechanism for the hopper of a railway car involving, in combination with a door hingedly associated with the hopper, an arm carried by the door, a locking member movably mounted on the sideof the hopper for cooperating with thearm to support the door in partially closed and in fully closed position, means rigidly secured to the hopper for guiding the locking member from one position of closure tothe other; and movable means for maintaining the locking mem her in partiallly unlocked positionwhereby the latter projects into the path ofmovement of the door arm when the door is swung toward-closed position, said door arm being adapted to actuate saidlocking member to causean unlocking movement of thelatter and said movable means being adapted to permit the lockingmember to move toward unlockengaged and cooperable with said member for guiding the latter from one, door-supporting position to the other, said pawl being adapted to cooperatev with the bracket for maintaining the locking member in position to automatically engage the doorarm when the door is swung to said partially closed position' T I 15,. A car door mechanism forthe hopper of a railway. car involving, in combination with a door hingedly associated with the hopper,an arm carried by the door, a locking member movably mountedon the side of the hopper adapted to cooperatewith the arm to support the door in partially" closed and in ;fully closed position, means for moving'said I member to force the door from partially closed to fully closed position, a bracket oarf ried by the side of the hopper for guiding the member from'one door-supporting position to theother, and mea'ns operatively associated With-said member and engageable with the j bracket for maintaining the member in an elevated position to automatically engage the door armwhen the door is swung to'said partially closed position.

'In testimony whereof We aflix our signav tures.

- ELMER C. ELLIS.

PAUL MADDOX. 

